Okay, I give up. It’s obvious that God doesn’t want me to watch the space shuttle being launched. Yesterday’s liftoff was canceled due to a fuel leak, and now NASA officials say it will be the end of November, at the earliest, before the shuttle will take off. We’ll be gone from the Space Coast long before that. We’d like to see it, but there is a lot more here in Florida that we also want to see.

Yesterday we had a very nice lunch with Peter and Connie Bradish, our hosts here at The Great Outdoors, and then we went back to their beautiful home and spent several hours visiting. Peter and Connie are really into genealogy, and have many years of experience in family history research, and I learned a lot talking with them that will help me in my own research. In fact, back at our motorhome, I logged onto a website Connie told me about, and discovered two sisters of my father, that were born and died in infancy, that I had never known about!

By the time we got done visiting with Peter and Connie, the weather had turned very cool. The day before we were running our Winnebago’s basement air conditioner, and yesterday evening we were sitting around whining about how chilly it was!

In addition to doing some genealogy research yesterday, I also worked on the seminar schedule for our upcoming Arizona Gypsy Gathering rally. Dennis Hill from the RV Driving School will be doing four seminars at the rally, including one for ladies only, called Yes, You Can Drive That RV.

If you’ve been reading my blog or the Gypsy Journal for very long, you know that I believe that both people in an RV need to know how to drive it. One person may do most of the driving, but you both need to at least know how to get the rig off the road and to a safe place, in case of an emergency. In addition to the seminar at the rally, the RV Driving School will also be offering behind the wheel driving lessons in your own RV at the rally, for a separate fee. Anybody who has taken the class will tell you that it is one of the best investments that you can make for your RV safety.

Dennis will also be presenting seminars on Testing Air Brakes, RV Driving Tips & Techniques, and Preparing To Drive To Alaska. I think if I snivel and beg hard enough, he will probably also sit in on our RVing Alaska panel discussion. Gee, I feel kind of bad about making Dennis work so hard when his pretty wife Carol is just sitting around running their vendor booth and being bored. I wonder if I can get her to teach a line dancing class?

Today is our last day in the Titusville area, and we’re going to spend it with Tim and Ann Moran. Tim has been wanting to show me a museum near their house, but hasn’t been up to it all week. If he’s feeling better, we may do that, and if not, we’ll just sit and visit. When you’re with people you love, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing, it’s all about just having that precious time together.

Bad Nick has been at it again, posting a new Bad Nick Blog titled Who Makes This Crap Up? Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.

Register Now For Our Arizona Gypsy Gathering Rally

Yesterday was a very frustrating day for me. As you may know, I am into genealogy, and the National Archives in Washington D.C. is the repository for a tremendous amount of information about our country and our people.

Among the things to be found at the Archives are the original Civil War pension files for anybody who served in that conflict, and later was awarded a pension for injuries or illness incurred during their service.

I was looking for information on my great grandfather, Richard G. Russell, from Cincinnati, Ohio. I knew that he had served in the Union Army, and been awarded a pension late in his life. We got there at 11 a.m., the next “pull” was at 1:30 (you can’t go in the files, you submit a “pull” request and they “pull” files several times a day on a set schedule, and bring them out.) So we were told to be back at 2:15 and the info would be there for review.

With over three hours to kill, we went around to the other side of the building and toured the National Archives galleries, where they have all sorts of interesting historical documents, including the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It was very inspiring to see these famous cornerstones of our democracy, and we noticed that there was a hushed air of reverence among those of us viewing them.

When we were done touring the galleries, we went back outside and walked around for a while, stopping in at the United States Navy Memorial, which is located right across Pennsylvania Avenue from the National Archives.

They had several interesting displays, including this diving suit (top) and this protective suit (bottom) worn by sailors whose job is finding and destroying bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which seem to be the weapon of choice of modern terrorists.

To me, this was one of the most interesting things on display. This is a 30 pound disk of waste plastic. On Navy ships, they don’t throw trash that could harm the environment overboard. Instead, they compress plastic items like water bottles, potato chip wrappers, pop bottles, etc and melt it into these solid disks, which are easier to store, take up less room, and can be disposed of once the ship arrives in port. How cool is that?

Back at the National Archives, we discovered that the first records they had pulled weren’t even the correct name, because somebody had written down the wrong file numbers. So they had to go back and “pull” the correct number file, which they said would take about a half hour.

Finally at 3 p.m. they came back from the latest pull and told me they don’t have Richard G. Russell’s info, the Veterans Administration does, since his wife was still alive and receiving his Civil War Pension after 1920. They said now I have to submit a Freedom of Information Act request to the VA, and it could take anywhere from five months to a year to process. I was really bummed out by waiting all day long, thinking it was all right there for me to look at and copy, and then getting shot down. Such is genealogy, I guess.

When we left the National Archives, we walked a few blocks to the International Spy Museum.

I don’t know if it was because I was already disappointed about not finding my family info, or because we are a little burned out by so much sightseeing in such a short time, or if it was the huge number of loud, rowdy kids touring the Spy Museum, but it just didn’t interest me at all.

They had some interesting things on display but most of it was very old technology, like this secret transmitter hidden in the heel of a shoe, or a camera that could be strapped to a pigeon. I guess if you were into James Bond films, you might like this place, but it just had a very juvenile feel to us.

Today is our last day in this area, and we want to drive over toward Annapolis and check out a few things there. I was able to find a newspaper that can print our next issue at a reasonable price, so we plan to head to the Thousand Trails campground in Gloucester, Virginia on Sunday. It’s a short drive, about 150 miles or so, but we do have one rather intimidating bridge to cross, over the Potomac River on U.S. Highway 301, that I’m sure will make a sniveling wimp out of me. But I’ll just keep my eyes closed as I drive over, and hope for the best.

Thought For The Day – And on the eighth day God said, “Okay, Murphy, you’re in charge!”

Register Now For Our Arizona Gypsy Gathering Rally

Yesterday was the final day of our 2010 Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally, which consisted of morning coffee and donuts sponsored by Mac McCoy, one last chance to visit the vendors who had not already packed up and left, and the tour of the Heartland Recreational Vehicles factory. By noon we had all of the tables and chairs put away, and the building emptied out.

We spent most of the afternoon trying to get our motorhome back to some semblance of normality, stowing away rally materials in our bays, and sorting through leftover brochures, display materials, and notes we had hastily scribbled on slips of paper about interesting places to visit that our attendees had suggested, and good campgrounds they thought we might like to stop at someday.

Our dear friends Tom Owen and Diane Rojewski came by to chat for a while, and Frank Hinman popped in for a few minutes. Rumor control has it that there may be another visit to Tom and Diane’s houseboat in Key West in our future. Tom and Diane graciously invited us to stay at the houseboat two years ago, and we spent a wonderful week exploring Key West and the rest of the Florida Keys, kayaking, and playing tourist. We’re really looking forward to getting back down there again.

Soon after Tom and Diane left, Orv Hazelton stopped in, and we solved most of the troubles of the world; then Greg White came over to join us, and he had answers for the few dilemmas of mankind that Orv and I had not gotten to yet.

I spent a couple of hours reading over the rally feedback forms that we asked each attendee to fill out. There were a lot of glowing compliments about the rally, which are always nice, but also some good feedback on the different seminars we had, as well as suggestions for future rallies.

Terry and I read each and every feedback form, and give those suggestions serious consideration. We don’t always go with them, for various reasons, but we have incorporated several of our attendees’ suggestions into our rallies.

One comment that gets repeated frequently at every rally is that we have too many seminars at the same time, and that a person can’t attend one that interests them unless they miss another in the same time period.

One of the things that sets our events apart from many other RV rallies is that we focus on a broad spectrum of seminars. We had 60 different seminars at the rally, which is about average for one of our events. Not just vendor seminars, but also seminars on all kinds of other topics. At this rally we had seminars on bicycling, kayaking, traveling to Alaska, genealogy, Midwest travel destinations, RVing history, RV electrical systems, tire safety, weight safety, fire safety, and more!

True, sometimes there are conflicts when somebody wants to be at two different seminars held at the same time, but the flip side of that coin is that at least we offer plenty of options to choose from, to suit every interest. If we offered fewer seminars, and repeated them twice as some have suggested, we would drastically reduce the options for others who may be interested in something else. To us, more is better when it comes to seminars.  

Of course, we can’t please everybody; we had comments that people wanted more computer related seminars, such as the nine that Geeks on Tour presented, and comments from other folks who said they didn’t care about computer seminars, they wanted seminars on RV maintenance, or pet care, or crafts, or… you get the idea. The problem there is, of course, finding people qualified to teach those seminars. All we can do is to continue to find new seminar topics and new people to present them.

Comments were mixed on having the rally at a full hookup campground. Some people loved it, and some said they would have been just as happy at a fairgrounds, if the cost had been less. And, of course, there were folks who wanted the full hookups, but at fairgrounds prices. That just doesn’t happen!

We had 165 RVs registered the rally, as well as a dozen or so others that had not registered, but were here at the campground on a weekly or monthly basis, and signed up for the rally when they learned about it.

Most of our vendors reported good sales, and a few said that they made more money at our rally then they did at the big Newmar Kountry Klub rally the week before in Goshen, which had over 600 RVs.

With rally week behind us, Miss Terry and I plan to sleep late today and spend some time recharging our minds and bodies. We’re worn out, but we’re gratified that we have another successful rally behind us.

Thought For The Day – A ton of regret never made an ounce of difference.

After reading in the blog about the frustrations I was having trying to do research at the Family History Library, Roger Marble sent me some website links to articles on getting the most out of a visit to the Family History Library. I spent a couple of hours Sunday reading those articles, and then getting my notes better organized. It really made a difference.

Yesterday I went back to the library for a couple of hours, and I think I may be getting the hang of how things are laid out there. I found a lot of very good information, including the dates and newspapers that several family members’ obituaries were in, as well as their last addresses before they died. I also found some information on my older brother, who was murdered back in 1968. It was quite a breakthrough, and I feel like I accomplished a lot. I want to go back again today for a while, since our visit here in Salt Lake City is almost over. I definitely plan to come back here again!

Roger presented a couple of seminars on genealogy at our rally in Celina, Ohio last year, and the response was so good that he will be doing them again at our upcoming Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally in Elkhart, Indiana August 30 – September 3.

Blog reader Ray Warner and his wife Cindy live in Riverton, Utah, a little south of Salt Lake City, and when he read that we were going to be in the area, Ray invited us to dinner. Never one to pass up the chance to make a new friend, or a free meal, I was happy to take Ray up on his offer.

We met at the Chuck-A-Rama buffet, where Terry and I had dinner Friday evening, and it was just as good this time around, too. Ray and Cindy are a very nice couple, who have a fifth wheel, and are looking forward to doing some extended traveling once Cindy retires in a couple of years.

We always enjoy talking with folks about the RV lifestyle, and sharing what we have learned in our time on the road. Cindy had questions about things like how do we get our mail on the road, and what happens if you have a major illness or accident when far away from home. We explained to them about mail forwarding services, and medical evacuation services such as Sky Med and MASA.

I also stressed to both Cindy and Ray how important I feel it is for both of them to know how to handle all of the dumping chores, how hook up and unhook their rig, and how to drive the RV, even if one is the primary driver and the other seldom gets behind the wheel. We have seen too many situations where a husband gets sick or injured, and the wife has no idea of how to get someplace safe until the situation is resolved. We have also known couples where the wife does most of the driving, and the husband would be really challenged if he had to take the wheel.

Some husbands (or wives) can teach their spouses how to drive an RV, but for many couples, it just doesn’t work. If you fall into that category, or if you are a new RVer, male or female, I have good news for you.

Dennis Hill from the RV Driving School will be presenting driving seminars at our Elkhart rally, as well as giving private lessons behind the wheel of the students’ rigs. I really hope folks take advantage of this opportunity to get lessons from the pros. The small fee for the class is worth every penny. It will make you a better, safer, and more confidant RVer. And if you do take the class, you’ll probably qualify for a discount on your insurance too!

Bad Nick is back on his soapbox, and he has a brand new Bad Nick Blog titled Talk About Cajones that may just open your eyes to how much money we are giving to criminals every month. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – Money can’t buy happiness, but it can sure make misery much more comfortable.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally!

We spent most of yesterday afternoon at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, while I attempted to find some information on my grandparents.

Operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the library is a vast storehouse of information on people from all over the world. Here you can find birth, death, and marriage records, census records, military and cemetery records, and so much more that I could never list it all here. If you are into genealogy, you have to make a trip here someday. You don’t have to be a Mormon to use the facilities, and there is no charge, except for any copies of records you make.

Actually, you can go to any LDS Family History Center to do genealogy research, and they can be found all over the country. They can also order information and records for you from Salt Lake City if you need them. But here, it’s all right there waiting for you.

The only problem was that a lot of the volunteers on duty to assist researchers, while very nice people, really didn’t seem all that well trained. I got a lot of “Well, I’m not sure” and “I’m new here, but maybe…” when I asked about where to look for the data I need.

Since  this was my first trip to the library, it was like having this massive vault, full of information, but nobody knew the combination to get inside. I’ll be going back to do some more research, because I know there is a lot of information about my ancestors there, if I can just find it!

We were hungry by the time left the library, late in the afternoon, so we went to what Terry and I agree is the very best buffet of any kind we have ever found in the country, Chuck-A-Rama. There are several of them here in Salt Lake City, and we will definitely go back. The selection was fantastic, everything was fresh and tasty, and nothing sits around getting stale or cold. This place is a winner!

As we were leaving the restaurant, we spotted this huge bird house in a small park nearby. Talk about a critter condo!

Back at Pony Express RV Resort, we found our old friend Dick Reed’s beautiful classic Eagle bus conversion parked next to us! Dick is in town for a couple of days, and when he checked in, he told the folks in the office that the wanted to be as close to us as he could get! Any closer, and Dick’s snoring would keep me awake!

We haven’t seen Dick in quite a while, so we had a lot of catching up to do, and we visited until after 11 p.m. Here is a picture that Miss Terry took of Dick and me. No, I didn’t get taller, I’m standing on the step of Dick’s bus in this picture!

We had another beautiful sunset, and Terry managed to catch this neat picture of a jet coming in for a landing at the airport, which is just a couple of miles away. Cool, huh?

Today I plan to go back to the Family History Library. Maybe they have a list of horse thieves and shady ladies where I can find some of my long lost relatives!

Thought For The Day – Too much of one thing is good for nothing.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally!